Flossing...

Just curious which rig most would consider flossing? Would it be the typical trout rig with 5 feet of leader, float at the top shot going down and bead/ hook

OR

Bottom bouncing with a 3 way swivel, 5 foot leader with hook horizontal and weight vertical?

I'm all new and don't want to get into it with a guy on the river bank for doing the wrong thing. Thanks all

Lesson no 1: Don't get into it with a guy on the river bank. He might be having a worse day than you, and someone will get hurt.

This is a passionate topic and usually ends in arguments and ridiculousness.

I wouldn't judge people for having a different rig than me. I have asked a guy once as to what the logic is for having a leader that i have estimated to be about 4ft. I was merely observing and asked nicely. He said he can't tell the depth of the pool plus he wants his bait not too close to his bobber. I don't think anyone would tell you they are flossing. I have seen worse...wait for salmon runs around sept/october and you will find the most skillful flossers Ontario has to offer.

Haha ok guys. Thanks

Don't let all the horror threads around the fishing boards throw you off. Half of them are written be people who think they own the river and the other half by people who think everybody should fish like they do, or its not being done right.

In the Niagara, you would do good to fish a three-way, in a shallow creek, most guys prefer float fishing, but I've seen guys pull plugs, spoons, spinners, float roe and mallows off the bottom.

IMHO, flossing is when you tie on the largest meathook you got and start ripping your rod from 3:00 to 9:00.

Others argue the rest is a fringe area. Some just can't get over themselves as an angler. As long as you fish your rig like a boss, nobody is going to hassle you.

Personally, I like hucking spoons and spinners in the creeks. Size 1 - 3 depending on conditions... with a big fat #2 siwash hooks on the larger stuff. Yuah, that's right. But what sets me apart from a "flosser" is I'm drifting my hardware with the current. Nobody has ever hassled me.

As for leader length, a lot of guys tie on based on how many feet visibility through the water. 4' leaders are not uncommon and they stick the float just above it and BB/microshot right on that leader.

that would be snagging not flossing lmao.

cptpronin said:

IMHO, flossing is when you tie on the largest meathook you got and start ripping your rod from 3:00 to 9:00.

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I would consider floating trebles off the bottom and long leader fishing ethically questionable.

That being said there are many different things to take into consideration. The larger rivers I like to fish rainbows on are often fished with longer leaders and two hooks. If someone was to do the same thing on a creek 15 feet across and a couple feet deep that could very well be considered flossing. Ripping weighted trebles hooks across the backs of fish is a totally different game and completely illegal.

If you go down to really any small river that gets a run of salmon and just look at the way the other anglers are fishing you will notice that many of them are employing some form of the two different methods you mentioned. Me and a friend spent an entire day on one last season and of the hundred or so people we observed nearly every person was IMO doing something ethically questionable to try to hook up. If you were to fish in one of these ways I imagine you wouldn't be bothered by anyone, on the contrary you will probably be surrounded by anglers doing the exact same thing.

It seems to be a great lakes tradition in some way. With the MNR attempting to phase out salmon in some places, little to no natural reproduction in some rivers and the fish essentially being on their last legs I think a blind eye is often turned.

I will bet many people on this forum have or do use one of the methods you talk about. I don't personally practice it but that doesn't mean I look down on those who do. In some cases these fish have little chance of naturally reproducing and will just die and in my eyes I don't see much wrong with harvesting these fish. Keep in mind snagging and retaining fish hooked outside of the mouth is illegal.

BowSlayer said:

that would be snagging not flossing lmao.

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none of the methods you quote are really flossing rigs in the right conditions... except the leader length. 5 foot below the swivel is just retarded if not a flossing setup...

the worst imo is the dudes you see with 3+ hooks on a line 2 feet apart with a bell sinker at the bottom and put trivial things on the hooks like styrofoam or earplugs to avoid breaking a baitless hook law. they have multiple rods per guy and just lay the line out across a length of the river. just waiting for the line to move. see this a lot up north. hooksets are almost always on the outside of the fishes head.
and of course the swing snaggers.. ugh. but at least swing snaggers for the most part get called out by the good guys on the stretch, and shamed if not worse.(port credit area seen more then a few fights over it. some ending very badly)

but usually guys who arent intending to snag fish, if you show them, will change their method. they just dont know or learned from watching the wrong people.
others really just dont/wont/never will care.

as long as youre not swinging a treble around on generously thick line, im sure nobody will bother you about it

I get a kick out of those flossing 'discussions'! I was once accused of flossing when I described a rig I proposed using on the lower Notty! :razz: :mrgreen: If any of you know how one would floss a fish in that area pls show me! I'd like to know how! :razz:

Flossing is when you fish perpendicular to the direction the fish are moving. You get your line to go in the fish's mouth and you pull tight until the hook ends up in their mouth. Most guys do it with normal setups, like a float setup. You can plop your roe bag on the far side of the fish and your float on the inside, If done right, the line between float and hook will get caught in the fishes mouth. Doesn't matter how long your leader is, could be 12" long and you can still floss. They call it Flossing because the line goes in the fishes mouth, like when you floss your teeth. Duh

my set up all the time for bows and browns is a 2-4foot leader 14lbs, and a 15 lbs main line. it works on all types of water (deep and shallow) i usually run my float another 4-14 feet depending on depth of the hole i am fishing. i prefer to keep my hook and bait away from my swivel and my 10-18 bb weights. (tightly bunched just above the swivel...) this works for hole up and over 15 feet, or fishing the rapids in only 1 foot of water.

anyway you put it will be fine, just don't try to strategically place your hook in the mouth of a fish and you wont be flossing!! lol

to all their own, we are all different, i starch my as$ with my left hand and eat with my right, you may do different and its not for me to judge..... untill you try to shake my hand, that is....

To me unfortunately all spawning salmon that are caught are "flossed" not that there is anything wrong with that but people need to stop imagining that they are better than others for having a short leader or any sort of other BS because biologically salmon do NOT eat while spawning, that's the last thing in their mind and about the "hitting out of aggression" well I've only seen that happen once and that was with a SUPER fresh fish about 100 meters up from the river mouth. The salmon are just too tired too do it. When a salmon is caught while spawning it was either "flossed" or the roe bag went directly into its mouth by the water current. I don't think flossing is wrong because it is the only way to catch these beautiful creatures but what I do think is wrong is snagging because that causes harm to the fish, I see way too many people throwing weighted trebles and aiming for the fishes dorsal fin with only about 12 inches of line out...like seriously!!!! The worst I've seen was an absolute massacre, about a dozen people with musky nets just slaughtering dozens of fish just for the roe (I have a strong belief that the roe would probably be used for illegal purposes as in they would sell it at their own tackle shops or to tackle shops). So in conclusion flossing is okay, snagging is BAD and scooping with musky net deserves JAIL time.

Now that I got that out of my system, TIGHT LINES !!!!

Sorry dont agree. I watch them bite a lot of the time so i know they hit. I drift above the pod so its pretty hard to floss. Never seen a 25 pound nook tip up like a trout and smash a chunk of.skien i guess eh? Chinook salmon are eating machines for 3 years offf life and it just doesn't shut right off. They definitely slow down tsteelies are the same, btw

PUMP KNOWS said:

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Lmao this made me laugh pretty good..

PUMP KNOWS said:

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Lmao this made me laugh pretty good..

TroutCommander said:

Sorry dont agree. I watch them bite a lot of the time so i know they hit. I drift above the pod so its pretty hard to floss. Never seen a 25 pound nook tip up like a trout and smash a chunk of.skien i guess eh? Chinook salmon are eating machines for 3 years offf life and it just doesn't shut right off. They definitely slow down tsteelies are the same, btw

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Salmon commonly hit lures---that's an aggressive strike!

dont get me wrong but when i fish for salmon i see them hit flies on the surface, and if the water is clear enough and im within the range where i could see my bait underneath, i personally saw them hit my roe bag right in front of me, IMHO i dont think a roe bag will annoy them, for them to hit it with their mouths, i honestly think they are hungry just from trying to go up and trying to reach their spawning grounds. But i agree with you i beleive that when they hit lures i.e. little cleo spoons, j plugs and all, i think its to smack the fish away from where they are, i think they get annoyed or protective when there is someone close to them besides their wife or hubby!!! LOL!!!

Knuguy said:

Salmon commonly hit lures---that's an aggressive strike!

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I always see salmon attacking other salmon by the tail.

It's funny to watch.